According to a report in the United Daily News, Taiwan's government is finally ready to address the urgent need for trains with bicycle carrying capabilities. The need for bike trains has become increasingly important as Taiwan's government has made cycling tourism one of the six pillars of its tourism plan.
The article reports that the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is poised to procure new train cars for its local commuter trains, enabling each train to hold up to eight bicycles.
The first train cars are scheduled to arrive in September 2012, followed by a second batch of train cars by 2015. The plan expects to put 296 new bicycle equipped train cars into service around Taiwan and increase ridership for both bikes and trains.
Anything would be an improvement at this point. Under the current system you must apply to bring a bike on board and then you just rest it against the wall with everyone else. At your stop you practically have to beat the rest of the passengers over the head with your bicycle to exit.
Unfortunately, the new trains won't go into effect soon enough.
